Putnam County libraries announce April 2025 schedule of events

The Putnam County Library District will celebrate National Library Week from April 6 through April 12.

There will be an open house and special events at branches throughout the week.

The library will be closed Friday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19 for the holidays.

Putnam County libraries will participate in the Illinois Valley Road Trip from April 6 through May 10. Take an Illinois Valley road trip this spring. Visit the library neighbors and see what unique collections they offer, and the services available. Visit the circulation desk at each library to collect a stamp on your passport. Collect stamps, then turn in your passport at your home library for entry into a drawing. Visit your home library and get your road trip passport. Visit as many libraries as you can and have your passport stamped. Return your passport to your home library and enter to win! Prizes for Adults who go to at least one other library in the area, Someone who goes to each of our branches, and a child who participates.

April 6-12: Community Banking Week: North Central Bank of Hennepin and Ladd will be co-sponsoring.

7 p.m. Wednesday, April 10: The Art of Foraging with Alexis Nikole Nelson. Alexis Nikole Nelson is a forager and an outdoor educator using her platforms, TikTok account alexisnikole and Instagram page black forager, to celebrate all the edible plants hiding in plain sight. She peels back historical layers on African American and Indigenous food traditions that have traditionally been repressed and empowers those living in food deserts with greater self-sufficiency. Go to https://bit.ly/ILP_AlexisNikoleNelson.

Hennepin, 214 N. Fourth St.

6 p.m. Wednesday, April 2: Painting Night. Easter Bunny.

12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3: A River of Stories. Brian “Fox” Ellis will be presenting. Funded by the Illinois River Tour Foundation. Putnam County Community Center: River Tales.

3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 3: Conversation with the Historical Society Workshop

6 p.m. Thursday, April 3: A River of Stories at the library

April 7-11: Cricut Makerspace. During Library Hours. Come in to learn how to use the Cricut Maker. Crafty adults welcome. Call ahead to schedule your appointment. Paper Flowers.

7:30 p.m. Friday, April 18: Glow in the Dark Easter Egg Hunt. Meet at the library. Easter Egg Hunt begins at 8. Meet at the library first to take photos with the Easter Bunny. Head over after at the Walter Durley Boyle Park for the Egg Hunt. Age 0 to third grade. Rain date will be Saturday, April 19.

Thursday, April 24, through Saturday, April 26: Spring Book Sale, during library hours. Stop by the library to pick up books during the town-wide garage sales. Donations accepted.

6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 16: Putnam County Book Club. Meet every month either at Hennepin or Granville Library. Join and share your ideas. The library chooses books together and looks forward to completing our list for the next year. Looking forward to sharing our enthusiasm for books. Follow the group on Facebook.

Granville, 214 S. McCoy St.

1 p.m. Tuesday, April 1: Movie Matinee: “My Garden of a Thousand Bees.” Library hosts a screening of the documentary, “My Garden of a Thousand Bees.” This documentary follows acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn, who, locked down by coronavirus, turns his lenses on the surprising and spectacular bees living in his urban garden in Bristol, England. The documentary is 54 minutes in length and is rated G. It is made possible through public performance rights by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

4 p.m. Tuesday, April 1: Throw and Grow: Seed Bomb Workshop. The library will be making pollinator seed bombs using clay, soil and seeds. Come get your hands dirty and help our buzzing friends thrive.

10 a.m. Saturday, April 5, and 4 p.m. Thursday, April 24: Tales with Tails (Read to Rosie). This fun program allows youth to practice literacy skills. Dogs love stories, even when words have to be worked out, missed, or misspoken.

1 p.m. Tuesday, April 8: Movie Matinee: “Rachel Carson.“ The library hosts a screening of the documentary, “Rachel Carson.” When Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was published in 1962, the book became a phenomenon. A passionate and eloquent warning about the long-term dangers of pesticides, the book unleashed an extraordinary national debate and was greeted by vigorous attacks from the chemical industry. But it would also inspire President John F. Kennedy to launch the first-ever investigation into the public health effects of pesticides. The documentary is one hour and 54 minutes and is rated PG. It is made possible through public performance rights through Kanopy.

5 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, and Tuesday, April 29: Tales with Tails (Read to Hobo). This fun program allows youth to practice literacy skills. Dogs love stories, even when words have to be worked out, missed or misspoken.

5 p.m. Thursday, April 10: “Free for All: The Public Library.” The library hosts, in partnership with Independent Lens, the new documentary, “Free for All: The Public Library,” to celebrate National Library Week. The documentary tells the story of the quiet revolutionaries who made a simple idea happen. From the pioneering women behind the Free Library Movement to today’s librarians who service the public despite working in a contentious age of closures and book bans, meet those who created a civic institution where everything is free, and the doors are open to all. Following the screening, Library staff will share information on library card sign-up and resources available through the Library. The film is one hour in length. “Free for All: The Public Library” will premiere on PBS on April 29.

1 p.m. Tuesday, April 15: Mindfulness Mandala Art. Mandalas are a fantastic way to promote mindfulness and foster creativity.

1 p.m. Wednesday, April 16: DIY Slime Demonstration. Make and take your homemade slime.

1 p.m. Friday, April 18: Decorate your cupcakes and discover books about baking and cooking for kids.

1 p.m. Tuesday, April 22: Movie Matinee: “Intelligent Trees.” Library hosts a screening of the documentary, “Intelligent Trees,” to celebrate Earth Day. Trees talk, know family ties and care for their young. Is this too fantastic to be true? Peter Wohlleben, author and forester, and Suzanne Simard, scientist, have been observing and investigating the communication between trees for decades. This documentary features the main observations that are covered in Wohlleben’s book, “The Hidden Life of Trees.” The film is 45 minutes in length, not rated, and is made possible by public performance rights through Kanopy.

1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 2: First Wednesday Fun at the library. School gets out early on the first Wednesday of the month, so the Granville library will have a variety of board games and a light snack available for our school-age patrons. Games are resources that may be checked out as well.

10:30 a.m. Tuesdays: Toddler Time Tuesday. Provides unstructured time for our youngest patrons to explore movement and music. Our Tonie boxes will provide the music and we’ll shake maracas, wave scarves, and blow bubbles together.

11 a.m. Wednesdays: Ready Set Read Wednesday. Explore the library’s collection of early readers, phonics materials and letter recognition games. Take-home reinforcement sheet provided.

10 a.m. to noon Friday, April 4: Homeschool Meet and Greet.

Our Family Reads. Start a new tradition over the weekend, reading together as a family. Our Family Reads are curated book bundles to read together with your family. picture books, fiction and nonfiction, a book bag and popcorn.

1 p.m. Monday, April 14 and April 28: Book Discussion Group. No assigned book to read. Group directed. Instead, share your insights, opinions, and views. Make recommendations. Join and share.

Putnam, 105 N. Center St.

9 a.m. Saturday, April 5: Books and Brunch. Food, Books, and Friends.

Magnolia, 112 N. Chicago St.

9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 5: Seed Starter.

3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 22: Recycling Craft.

McNabb, 322 W. Main St.

4 p.m. Wednesday, April 2: Cardboard Bird Feeder Craft. Celebrate Earth Month by creating a bird feeder out of cardboard. All supplies will be provided.

Saturday, April 12: Seed Starting. Read a book on how to start growing seeds

4 p.m. Wednesday, April 23: Mini Gardens. Celebrate Earth Month by creating a mini garden using recycled glass jars. All supplies will be provided.

Saturday, April 26: Chicken Hatching with Incubator. Study and watch for 10 days process until they hatch.

Standard, 128 First St.

12:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10: Historian Jim Gibbons will present “The Great Depression,” starting in 1929 and ending during the war years of the 1940s. Gibbons will take you through the Roaring Twenties, the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and then into the 1930s and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal program.